An AI-generated illustration of a fake online SIR form has been used to gain remote access to the victim’s cellphone.
Pune: An elderly man from BT Kawade Road lodged a complaint with Mundhwa police, saying that online fraudsters, who posed as ECI officials, cheated him of Rs 8 lakh by sending him a fake SIR form online between Oct 1 and 3.
Smita Wasnik, senior inspector of Mundhwa police, said, “The elderly man was at home. He had already completed his SIR formalities. The fraudsters sent him a message on his cellphone. The message showed the sender’s title as the Election Commission of India .”
The suspects allegedly installed remote access software in the victim’s cellphone to gain control via the bogus SIR correction form, an officer from Mundhwa police said. The discrepancy came to notice during the SIR investigation,” the officer said. “The elderly man opened the message, which stated that the complainant had wrongly mentioned his father’s name.